“You have about 67 percent of the voters say they really do want a change other than the incumbent that’s there,” he said.

Derry on Wednesday said that he was taking a few days off from the campaign and declined to comment.

“I’m not doing interviews about the campaign,” he said.

The race was an increasingly negative one in which voters were blanketed with campaign mailers from Derry and Ramos attacking one other.

Derry called Ramos a tax cheat, sought to link him to a 2007 gang investigation at the San Manuel reservation and questioned whether as a member of the tribe he could truly represent county residents.

Ramos accused Derry of wanting to divide the community by injecting race into the campaign and attempting to make it partisan by highlighting Ramos’ Democratic affiliation.

He said his support on election night shows that voters are past those issues and want to “end this negative image that San Bernardino County has been plagued with.”

Ramos painted Derry as part of the county’s “chain of corruption,” reminding voters that Derry pleaded guilty last year to a misdemeanor campaign-finance violation. One mailer included jail mug shots of former county officials arrested on corruption charges, including Derry’s former chief of staff, Jim Erwin.

Ramos said he had to respond to Derry’s “drastically negative” campaign but only exposed “things that were factual and true.”

Derry has acknowledged that he went after Ramos first, scoffing at Ramos’ claim that he wanted a positive campaign.

He called the charges against him bogus, meant to hurt him politically and said it was legitimate to question whether Ramos is exempt from some taxes as a tribal member.

The campaign got strikingly personal at times. Last week, Derry accused Ramos of being caught taking down a campaign sign after he saw Ramos standing by the side of the road in Highland speaking to a sheriff’s deputy. Derry stopped to take a photo and the picture was posted on a website run by Erwin.

But the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said Ramos had stopped to fix one of his own signs and the deputy, who knew him, had just stopped to say hello.

Derry said Tuesday night that he believed he ran a good campaign but was outspent by his rival.

It is a shame that we have to endure more months of “mud slinging”, initiated by Supervisor Derry. November, 2012 will bring a breathe of fresh air as JAMES RAMOS will win as THIRD DISTRICT COUNTRY SUPERVISOR FOR THE COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO.

Hear Hear on
June 7th, 2012 12:24 pm

Marcus

Well said.

Derry and Irwin are nuts.

They don’t have a prayer in Nov. Most smart observers saw that last fall.

Derry’s few racists friends won’t get him elected ever again in this county.

Right on Country, Wrong on result on
June 7th, 2012 12:53 pm

Marcus,

You are right in using the term Third District “Country” Supervisor.

November isn’t quite in the bag for Ramos and I don’t think he believes it is.

He would be naive to think that.

Two candidate races are a different animal, and Derry and James are in a runoff.

James spent nearly a million dollars and didn’t win outright.

There will be three times as many voters in Novemebr than in June.

The (Ramos) campaign wanted to win this in June for reasons not publicly known.

Some events are likely to transpire soon that will affect one of Ramos’ main supporters.

But not James. He was being used.

It will likely have an affect on the runoff.

Like I said, James had nothing to do with what happened. But it was done to give him an edge. And it did.

I would expect a totally different campaign and a much more money spent by both sides.

Repairman on
June 7th, 2012 1:33 pm

Right on Country, Wrong on result: Please tell us what will be happening. Please tell us what was done to give Ramos an edge. If you can’t do this now, it will look like you are just telling stories, lying if you will, just starting gossip and rumors trying to slime Ramos.

Josiah Gordon "Doc" Scurlock on
June 7th, 2012 2:19 pm

I still don’t understand how the lower income folks of the third district could possibly think that a rich casino boss who pays no taxes could possibly have their best interests at heart.

anonymous on
June 7th, 2012 3:00 pm

I’m with you that. In 4 years we will see how truly dirty Casino Boss Ramos is.

Repairman on
June 7th, 2012 3:11 pm

Josiah Gordon “Doc” Scurlock: Nothing elitist about you. But more to the point, if we were able to get rid of the corrupt politicians in the third district maybe the “lower income folk” could do better. Maybe they could do well enough to be a snob like you!

Observer of Facts on
June 7th, 2012 5:37 pm

According to the article, “Derry has acknowledged that he went after Ramos first.”

I would be VERY surprised if Neil Derry actually said that, since James Ramos clearly acted first when his “associate” Mike Ramos filed the silly felony charges against Neil Derry.

Anonymous on
June 7th, 2012 6:03 pm

Derry had a lot of serious issues he needed TO POINT OUT TO US VOTERS THAT WERE ON THE TABLE REGARDING JAMES RAMOS STATUS AS A “NATIVE INDIAN”.. .THAT IS NOT GOING AFTER ANYONE…

…THAT JAMES RAMOS IS A WHINING BABY AND SCREECHES “RACISM! RACISM!” SIMPLY BECAUSE DERRY POINTS OUTS THAT RAMOS LIVES IN A RESERVATION,

A FACT

AND WAS THE CHIEF & HEAD OF THAT “NATION” UP UNTIL THIS APRIL- BECAUSE IT HURT HIS CAMPAIGN SO MUCH HE QUIT AS CHIEF…IF THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH IT WHY DID HE STEP DOWN IN A HEART BEAT???

A FACT

…STATING THE DANGERS OF ELECTING A MAN WHO IS NOT LEGALLY BOUND TO FOLLOW THE LAW OR REGULATIONS THAT HE WILL PASS AND IMPOSE ON THE THIRD DISTRICT CITIZENS IS A TRUE DANGER AND DERRY HAS THE RESPONSIBILITY TO EDUCATE US AND WARN US ON THAT BEFORE WE CAST OUR NEXT VOTE…dERRY HAS FIRST HAND KNOWLEDGE!

The opinions of you Derry supporters carry no weight what soever! None of you gave a prediction that was even remotely close. Your efforts to try and belittle Mr Ramos victory or explain it away are tantamount to sour grapes and poor sportsmanship. Have a little dignity about yourselves and realize that times are changing and if you do not keep up you will be nothing more than a useless relic of a bygone political age.

Was Ramos Deceptive? on
June 7th, 2012 8:19 pm

While Derry may not have run a great campaign, Ramos ran a deceptive one. He disguised himself in his mailers as a Republican with his Elephant logo and Republican endorsements. I spoke with some who thought he was a Republican because of those mailers. I would be curious to know how many others were deceived by those mailers.

Observer of Facts on
June 7th, 2012 8:22 pm

Dean:

Neil Derry worked for the Southern California Edison Company, a firm not known for hiring people without “employable skills.”

Any business success James Ramos has experienced is 100% the result of being able to run a gambling monopoly. Even so, didn’t 2 of his businesses fail?

Anonymous on
June 7th, 2012 8:46 pm

#12 how true…I had to set many co workers and family members straight about that…and they were offended by Ramos deceptive tactics!

Because so many of you can’t figure out what happened Tuesday night, read the article attached to the above link. After doing so, contemplate what that information means and how it applies to the IE. If you can’t figure out what went wrong for derry after reading the article then Derry doesn’t belong in politics and the rest of you should leave the country.

Was Ramos Deceptive? on
June 8th, 2012 8:02 am

If Ramos is willing to deceive voters about his political affiliation, how else will he deceive us if he gets elected? How a candidate campaigns says a lot about his character.

Was Ramos Deceptive? on
June 8th, 2012 10:24 am

#17, I have no real facts about how many Republicans were actually deceived or misinformed by Ramos’ mailers. I just mentioned a couple that I met who were questioning whether he was a Republican after seeing the mailer knowing Ramos’ positions. I just wonder if Ramos would have received as many votes that he did had he not used Republican icons. Anonymous #16 pointed out people’s reaction after finding out about the deception. I predict the same reaction when people find out what a fraud he really is.

As for the Rolling Stones article, take an honest look at CA’s economy. Are we really better off with Democrats and moderates in charge? We’ll talk again in Nov.

Also, why should I leave the country just because I disagree with you?

Repairman on
June 8th, 2012 10:42 am

I think Was Ramos Deceptive? #19 shows the problem with a lot of the G.O.P. voters. They are willing to vote for anyone that is a Republican no matter who it is, corrupt, on probation it doesn’t matter. Stay the course, vote conservative, as the fat boy say’s.

Was Ramos Deceptive? on
June 8th, 2012 12:01 pm

I don’t deny that people vote along partisan lines; both Dems and Reps do as well as other political party members. Each party stands for some general principles. Joining a particular party means that you also agree with those general principles. When a candidate runs as a Dem or Rep, we expect that they also hold to the general principles of that party. I realize that is not always the case, which is why voters have to do their homework on candidates.

My question is about Ramos: why did Ramos think he had to deceive people into thinking he was a Republican when he was not?

Was Ramos Deceptive….As to my telling you to leave the country, I only meant it in a way to jolt you to consider what the article is saying. I know you have every right to be here and have your own opinion. The article isn’t bashing the GOP, The article is warning the GOP. You are right about the status of California and truth be told, I have no interest in living in a country that is absent a GOP. I see the needed qualities that are lacking in the Democratic party are found in the GOP and also what is lacking in the GOP is found in the Democratic party. The problem is that the GOP is not keeping pace with the demographics of America and they are alienating potential supporters. Change is inevitable, there is just no way around it. The wonderful era of yesterday is gone and there is no return to it. If the Democrats are the stewards of American civil rights then it can be argued that the Republicans are definitely the stewards of American heritage. There is no need for these two to be at odds. However, the GOP need to embrace instead alienate the variety of people that are here. If not, like the article points out, they will face a generation in the wilderness.

Dean on
June 8th, 2012 2:40 pm

#15- Derry would not be hired back by SCE managers who he worked for and with. When you mention his name they just shake their heads. Neil’s a nice guy but he doesn’t bring much to the workplace. SCE admittedly made a mistake when they didn’t check Derry out prior to their hiring of him. Being government relations representative is a not a high level job. Pete Aguliar was one with Arrowhead Credit Union and he was terrible. I had personal dealings with him and he never followed through with anything. A total waste of time. In talking to an SCE regional manager he said the same thing about Derry. He did say Neil was very good about charging every meal he could to SCE though!

Wow, Ramos must be pretty good if he could deceive 47% of voter last Tuesday night. However, Mr Derry can no longer deceive anyone into believing that he is an honest politician as 67% voted against his incumbency.

Was Ramos Deceptive? on
June 9th, 2012 4:25 pm

As I stated before, I don’t know how many people were actually deceived by Ramos’ ads. I for one, was not. And several people I know saw through the deception immediately when they saw the ads. My point is that Ramos ATTEMPTED to deceive people. Why?

It’s very obvious that deception was his intent by his use of the Elephant logo, which is a Republican symbol. I looked at all his ads that were posted on this site on May 28. I didn’t see any mention of the word Democrat or that he is endorsed by specific Democrats. But he did do an entire ad connecting himself to Republican leaders. One ad says “Neil Derry Does Not Represent Republican Values” as if Ramos does. Why would a Democrat care about Republican values? I don’t know if all the ads were posted because the specific one I’m referring to isn’t. Look at the ads and judge for yourself.

Was Ramos Deceptive?: Do you think derry was being deceptive when he was laundering that campaign contribution? You know the one, it’s the one where he had the choice of surrendering to authorities or being arrested. It’s the one where he had to plead guilty to avoid felony charges. It’s the one he’s still on probation for.

ha ha ha ha on
June 10th, 2012 8:48 am

Repairman you repeated statments about derrys conviction might be taken a little more seriously when you start calling for DA Ramos arrest for laundering 10000 to his wife. If J Ramos serious about stoping the corruption then he should reject DA Ramos endosement and call for his arrest. But that doesn’t fit into you agenda so you will either say that’s not you problem or just ignore that truth.

Repairman on
June 10th, 2012 9:24 am

ha ha ha ha: Was derry being deceptive or not? that was the question. Let me help you with the answer since you can’t seem to understand what the concept of truth is, or you realized you wouldn’t be able to answer the question without admitting derry was at least trying ( evidently he wasn’t vary good at it ) to be deceptive when he laundered that $5,000.00 contribution. So YES he was being deceptive, that is why he is on probation now.

Anonymous on
June 10th, 2012 11:43 am

Mailers should flood Redlands warning the community of how Mike and Gretchen Ramos have held fundraisers for their “political committee” and then Husband Mike Ramos laundered those “contributions” into Gretchen Ramos’ personal bank account for her personal enjoyment- and we’ll add their faces to that chain link mailer James Ramos mailed out!!

The Ramos’ were fined, MIKE AND GRETCHEN WERE CAUGHT TAKING “CONTRIBUTIONS” AND TRANSFERRING THEM TO GRETCHEN’S PERSONAL BANK ACCOUNT

ON A NON-ELECTION YEAR, AND ON A YEAR NO ONE WAS OPPOSING RAMOS!!

YET GRETCHEN CLAIMS THOSE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS MIKE QUIETLY FUNNELED TO HER WERE FOR RUNNING HIS CAMPAIGN, AGAINST WHO- CASPER THE FRIENDLY GHOST??????

Was Ramos Deceptive? on
June 10th, 2012 8:30 pm

Yes, Derry has his baggage, but Ramos is no saint. All you Ramos defenders need to take an honest look at him. Can he really be a better Supervisor? He can’t even answer a question about his positions without reading off statements from a binder written for him. He has no ideas of his own. He’s a puppet. The only defense of Ramos is that Neil Derry is corrupt. Ramos has a history of corruption, too. With only 2 candidates, it’s just a matter of who’s less corrupt and the extent of his corruption.

Balanced Reasoning on
June 10th, 2012 8:48 pm

#38 – not who is “less corrupt” but MORE CORRUPT. What did Ramos do to impact positively to district 3 other than “donate” gambling-addicted losers’ monies?

ha ha ha ha on
June 11th, 2012 7:29 am

Nice dodge repairman, that right there says it all. You could careless about if derry took any money at all. You just oppose him and that is the only thing you have to keep pushing because Ramos has no good points to show he could do a better job. He handed millions of dollars from his casino to his “friends” now he wants to be able to do it with our tax dollars and his vote on the bos.

Repairman on
June 11th, 2012 8:30 am

ha ha ha ha: I do care that derry is CORRUPT, and THAT is why I oppose him.

ha ha ha ha on
June 11th, 2012 9:21 am

So is that your starting point or are we just standing by waiting for you to ramp up your campain against DA Ramos too? And again if you feel J. Ramos is the answer are you now saying he needs to call for Da Ramos’s arrest because if Derry is corrupt for laundering $5000 dollars is DA ramos and his wife just as corrupt for doing that with $10000 ?

Ha HA HA…..The DA isn’t going anywhere. Derry is. If Ramos was guilty Derry should have never have followed in his footsteps. Doing so only opened him up to these well founded charges of corruption. What’s the difference between him and the DA you ask, simply put, Derry is up for re-election. He should have been more careful.

ha ha ha ha on
June 11th, 2012 2:04 pm

I tried going to the authorities but I was told that since I wasn’t running for office and I didn’t own a casino that I could use to contribute thousands of dollars to them, there was no point in charging DA Ramos with crime that the fppc had already ruled deserved only a fine. Since I wasn’t running for office there wasnt a reason to arrest him before I anounced I was running

Anonymous on
June 11th, 2012 2:48 pm

Red Anon says to- Was Ramos Deceptive?

“Get over it.”

Is he trying to tell us that RIGHT and WRONG should never be an issue or pointed out? We should all just…

“Get over it!”

Yeah, that reflects Ramos’ arrogant attitude.

Observer of Facts on
June 11th, 2012 4:50 pm

Anonymous:

In Comment #44, you refer to “well founded charges of corruption” against Neil Derry.